Is it dangerous to handle /play around with a bullet?

Question

I found a bullet (from a gun). It's intact (hasnt been shot, so it's not just the shell).
How safe is it to handle? Is it unstable? Or can it get shot if I knock it with something? It's got gunpowder in it, right?
I'm just worried if it's safe or not.

Thanks

Answer 1

Well, it's not likely to go off with simple handling. However, it *does* have a percussion cap at the base, and it *is* full of gunpowder. My advice is to get rid of it--know anyone who owns guns? If not, take it to your local police station or gun shop.

Answer 2

I can't believe people are actually saying how safe this is. EOD experts, Combat Arms Trainers. I have been an electrician for 14 years and can stand there with a metal key in an outlet for minutes and not get shocked, but that doesn't mean electricity can't hurt you.

Get rid of that bullet, cartridge, round, whatever the hell you want to properly call it. Accidents do happen. It's probably a thousand to one or more that anything will happen, but why chance it? Don't just throw it away. Drop it off at a police station. They won't ask you any questions; they'll probably note how cautious you were.

Oh yeah and 55,000 pounds per square inch? Not a problem as a firecracker in an open palm, but cover that explosion with brass, lead or whatever metal makes that casing and it becomes schrapnel. No wonder you're an SP, Mac.

Answer 3

You need to be careful of it, it sholde be played with especially if it is dented or rusted. Look at the casing end and if the primer has been hit, then it is a dude and may never go off or go off, when u least expect it. If the primer has not been struck, dont hit it with anything. When it is and not in a gun, the casing end becomes the dangerous part. Since it is lighter than the bullet, it will be the projectile and not the bullet end.

I recommend you give it to the local police and let them dispose of it for everyones safety. Also it may be something they are looking for as well.

Answer 4

If there is a bullet, case, powder, and primer, you have a 'cartridge'. It can be dangerous...if you bump the primer hard enough to cause it to ignite the powder, and fire the bullet out of the case. You can handle it safely, but not by playing with it. Holding it probably won't hurt you. tossing it, or dropping it, or putting into a box/pocket with a lot of other things, might be harmful. If old enough that the case is rusting, or the primer is rusting, it could be very unstable. Get rid of it.

Answer 5

The round you found is safe. It takes a ton of force on the primer to set off the charge. Also, the reason a round has so much force is, when it's in a gun, it's explosion is contained by the chamber. The force in the chamber is 55,000 pounds per square inch. But, out in the open, there's nothing to contain it. It's like the trick where someone set off a firecracker in the palm of their hand. Yeah, it stings, but with no containment, the explosion is usually harmless. I taught weapons in the Air Force for 8 years, and this is well known fact. Unlike our so called Canadian EOD poster, if he was for real, he might know this!!

Answer 6

Gun powder is very stable; however, it is unwise to play around with any unexploded cartridge. If the primer is struck with sufficient force the round will go off and someone could get hurt or killed. If you want to keep it and play around with it, take it to a gun smith and have him remove the gun powder and expend the primer and press the bullet back in place. This will render the cartridge harmless. If you don't do this you are playing Russian Roulette with your life or someone else's life. It may never go off but then it just might go off, there is no way to tell for sure.

Answer 7

I think the word you're searching for is "cartridge," and it would take a really unusual amount of work to make it go bang even in determined hands. They're completely safe. I've always had bunches of them lying around my house without a concern. It might "cook off" at decreased power if your house burned down but probably wouldn't hurt anything seriously. Or you could put it in a vise, put a screwdriver on the primer, and beat it with a hammer, but otherwise, it's just going to sit there. Safe for babies to play with, as long as they don't have the gun to put it in, unless it's small enough to choke on.

Answer 8

The bullet is safe as long as you don't do anything crazy with it. Any contact on the little round part on the rear of the bullet could cause it to go off.

So as long as it's sitting undisturbed, it is not dangerous. However, unless there's a reason for you to keep it, you should get rid of it. A good idea would be to take it to your local police station; they know how to properly dispose of such things.

Answer 9

It is not that dangerous - but still not a toy. It is not likely to go off unless abused and even if it dies the brass casing will fly apart (the biggest risk will be getting a piece of casing in your eye).

Simply throwing it away in the trash (although frowned upon) will safely get rid of it.

Answer 10

The bullet cannot hurt you unless it is fired from a gun at you. It takes a LOT of force to explode the cap that holds the firing powder, so you are not likely to knock it against anything that would make it explode.

Bullets are handled quite a lot while loading weapons, I really don't see any danger for you.